Floating bearing.



a. M.'BICKNELL & H. H. c. WEED.

momma BEARING.

APPLICATION FILED JULY 15. I918.

Patented Apr. 15,1919.

mm Jw/md n W uBW 7 w minn STATES PATENT oEEioE.

GEORGE M. BICKNELL, OF DETROIT, MICHIGAN, AND HUGH H. C. WEED, OF ST. LOUIS,

MISSOURI, ASSIGNORS TO THE CARTER CARBURETER COMPANY, OF ST. LOUIS, MISSOURI, A CORPORATION OF MISSOURI.

FLOATING BEARING.

Specification of Letters Patent.

Patented Apr. 15, 1919.

Application filed July 15, 1918.. Serial No. 245,006.

To all whom it may concern:

Be it lmown that we, GEORGE M. BioK- NELL and HUGH H. C. WEED, citizens of the United States, and residing at Detroit, in

the county of Wayne, Michigan, and at St. Louis, in the county of St. Louis, Missouri, respectively, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Floating Bearings, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to attachments for bearings adapted for application to rotating shafts, and more particularly to shafts which are subjected to high speed rotation. The primary object of the invention is the prevention of the whipping of shafts.

The generally accepted idea of the socalled whipping is the tendency of high speed shafting to travel, in response to centrifugal force, in a circlev larger than the diameter of the shaft. This circular travel is in addition to the rotation of the shaft under applied power. The shafts are ordinarily held in fixed bearings, generally at leasttwo in number, and" the portions of the shaft which are subjected to the whipping action are located between the fixed bearings. The circle of travel of the whipping portions would manifestly be around a center which is the center of the shaft when it is at rest. It will be very readily under stood that the whipping action is exceedingly destructive to the fixed bearings and to the shaft itself.

As before stated, a whipping shaft travels in a circle larger than its own diameter. Our conception is that any discouragement of the tendency of the shaft to travel in a true circle, by destroying or retarding its continuity of movement, or impulse 1n a fixed circular direction, will tend to cause the shaft to more nearly assume its normal straight alinement.

The invention is especially adapted for automobile shafting but it is to be clearly understood that it may be advantageously used on any high speed shafts. In automobile drive shafts a very large percentage of the destructive wear on universal joints is occasioned by shaft whipping. This wear has caused the adoption of heavier drive shafts of abnormal diameter, which manifestly do not whip to so great an extent, because less resilient, but has occasioned a very material increase in cost of production. These heavier shafts are also objectionable in that they add to the burden of the universal joint. With the use of our invention, a long drive shaft of normal diameter will show a smaller degree of whipping tendency, and consequently cause less wear upon the bearings, than will a shaft of the same length and of abnormally large diameter.

We have observedthat the whipping ac tion is better retarded by opposing unequal resistance to the tendency of the shaft to swing in a circle. A fixed resistance of the tendency to travel to the left, for instance, should be met by either a greater or less resistance to travel to the right. Moreover, it is obvious that, in order for the shaft to travel in a'circular path, the whipping portion must move upwardly and downwardly,

at some point in the circle. This resistance may be applied as desired, but it is to be,

noted that, if equal resistance is moderately applled to movement on all directions, the whipping action will not .be entirely eliminated.

Our invention therefore, by providing unequal resistance to shaft movement in d1fi'erent directions, renders a true circular or whipping movement impossible, ofi'ering at the same time no resistance to the rotative movement within the bearings.

In the accompanying drawings forming a part of this specification, we have illustrated a preferred embodiment of our invention, and have chosen to illustrate the invention applied to the drive shaft of an automobile.

In the drawings Figure 1 is a plan view, partly in section, illustrating the invention applied to a drive shaft; and V Fig. 2 is a side plan view.

The invention comprises preferably a split bearing 1, adapted to surround the shaft 2.

Fixed to any convenient part of an automobile, such as a cross-member, is a socket member 3, here shown as comprised of two plates 4 and 5, shaped to receive a metallic ball 6, provided with a screw threaded shank 7. The plates 4 and 5 are preferably secured to the cross member by bolts, as shown in Fig. 1.

Secured to the shank 7 is a bar 8, preferably provided with an inwardly screw threaded socket to receive said shank. The

disposition of the several elements is such that the bar 8, when connected as described,

will assume a position adjacent the, bear- 9, and :are surrounded by compression springs 13, 14; respectively, which springs exert their resiliency to cause the plates 9 and 10 to clamp the bar 8. Adjusting nuts 11 and 12 are fitted to the outer ends of the bolts 11 and 12 respectively, whereby the Clamping action on the plates regulated, as will be understood.

The bearing 1 is provided with a shank 15, having aprojection 16 extending through theadjacentface of the plate 10, the end of said projection being screw threaded to receive a nut 17. The operation of the device is clear. Through the ball and socket connection of the bar '8, it is rendered free to swing in any direction laterally and will readily accommodate itself to any longitudinal move ment of the shaft 2, but will not move in response to any vertical vibration of the said shaft. This vertical movement therefore causes the collar (formed by the-plates 9 and 10) to ride vertically upon the bar 8, such movement being frictionally resisted by the clamping action of the said plates under the influence of the springs 13 and 14. It will be seen therefore that, since movement of the shaft in any direction laterally or longitudinally is not resisted, but that vertical movement thereof is frictionally opposed, the whipping action of the shaft is prevented because itcan not assume a circular course of travel.

It is obvious that in actual practice of the invention, lubricating devices, such as oil cups, should be applied to all points where there is frictional contact. Since thes devices form no part of our invention, they are not shown in all instances where the would be necessary.

Various modifications of the invention may be may be suggested to those skilled in the art to which the invention appertains, but we desire to secure by Letters Patent all such embodiments thereof as fall fairly within the scope of the appended claims.

It is to be understood that, while we have shown a member mounted to assume a vertical position adjacent the shaft, the member might just as well be mounted to extend laterallyaboveor below the shaft.' In this event, the lateral movement of the member, the bearing, or the shaft, as herein'described, both in the specification and claims, might properly be termed a vertical movement, and vice versa. The appended claims cover this mechanical equivalent.

That we claim is:

1. A device of the character described, comprising, in combination with a rotatable shaft, a floatable bearing engagingthe shaft, an element mounted for universal lateral movement and connected to said bearing, and means carried by said element for resisting bodily movement of the bearing.

2. A device of the character described comprising, in combination with a rotatable shaft, a floatable bearing engaging the shaft,

whereby any bodily movement of thelatter V will be frictionally resisted. V

3. A device of the character described comprising, in combination with a rotatable shaft, a floatable bearing engaging the shaft, 7

a swinging element having one endmounted with a ball and socket joint connection and having its free portion secured to said bearing, and means carried by the element for resisting bodily movement of the bearing.

4. A device of the character described comprising, in combination with a rotatable shaft, a floatable bearin -g engaging the shaft, and means for imposing a yielding resistance to bodily movementof the bear ing in one directionwhile permitting lateral and longitudinal movement thereof.

In testimony whereof weaffix ourjsignatures. r GEORGE BIGKNELL.

"HUGH H. C. WEED.

Copies of this patent may be obtained for five cents each, by addressing the Oommissimleref "i'atents,

. Washington, D. 0; 

